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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26379871">You (Can) Judge The Book by its Cover</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunflowerSupreme/pseuds/SunflowerSupreme'>SunflowerSupreme</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Witcher (A/B/O) [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:27:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>741</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26379871</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunflowerSupreme/pseuds/SunflowerSupreme</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Society has rules, Geralt. That’s all I can tell you. I’m no expert on Omegan rights.</i>
</p><p> </p><p><b>Judge a book by its cover</b><br/>Outward appearance cannot be an indicator of someone or something's value or worth</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Witcher (A/B/O) [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1598041</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>95</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You (Can) Judge The Book by its Cover</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Buckle up. </p><p>Soooooooooo I wrote and mapped out a bunch of The Book to help with world building, and I thought I’d use more of it. Also you guys said <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26361769">Keep a Close Rein</a> wasn't all that angsty so I had to step up my game. </p><p>I'll be working on this periodically, although it's set between the First and Second games. Basically each chapter will also be set around a chapter of The Book and include some of Geralt's thoughts and feelings as he's reading (because he's the narrator for this sad story). It's all world building so it's not important to plot whatsoever, so feel free to skip it (and mind the trigger warnings, because it gets DARK).</p><p>It’s Geralt’s turn to be traumatized, ya’ll.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> The Book was burning a hole in Geralt's bags. Not literally, or he would have doused the fire, but figuratively, because he couldn't take his mind off it. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He’d been meaning to get rid of it ever since he’d confiscated it from the poet, but he couldn’t bring himself to trash it completely. It wasn’t something he was pleased to have, keeping it hidden from everyone, even Triss. Of course, such a book would be perfectly accepted by most people, he’d already seen omegas belonging to some of Foltest’s court members, all of them more timid than Dandelion. He’d tried to strike up a conversation, out of curiosity, and although they hadn’t run or told him to leave, they’d clearly been uncomfortable. Finally Triss had told him to stop, explaining that they were terrified of him, but their rules dictated that they couldn’t turn down conversation with an Alpha. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> “What rules?” he had asked. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The rules.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Who’s rules?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She sighed. “Society has rules, Geralt. That’s all I can tell you. I’m no expert on Omegan rights.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That had returned his attention, once again, to The Book. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He retired to his room, shutting and locking the door, and dug it out of his bags. The first page he opened it to was the table of contents. The Book seemed to be separated into two distinct parts, childhood and adulthood (although the author had chosen the far more impersonal <em>Virginal Phase</em> and <em>Marital Phase</em> to differentiate the two).</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Virginal Phase</span>
</p>
<ol class="ol1">
<li class="li3">The Day of Presentation</li>
<li class="li3">Grooming Habits of the Young Omega</li>
<li class="li3">The Duty of the Parent in Raising a Proper Omega </li>
<li class="li3">Handling Heat Cycles in an Unmated Omega</li>
</ol><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Marital Phase</span>
</p>
<ol class="ol1">
<li class="li3">Choosing an Omega</li>
<li class="li3">Mating the Omega</li>
<li class="li3">Disciplining an Unwieldy Omega</li>
<li class="li3">Steps for a Successful Heat and Tips for Increasing Fertility</li>
<li class="li3">Childbirth in Omegas</li>
<li class="li3">Retirement</li>
</ol><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He couldn’t decide which chapter title horrified him the most (if he had to chose, it would be the ominously named “Retirement” which seemed out of place with the other, elaborate titles), so he decided to start with the foreword, assuming (naively) that it couldn’t be that bad. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>"Wise men have said that it is the duty of society to care for their weakest members. A civilization that allows harm to come to those who cannot defend themselves will crumble from within. As such, it is of the utmost important that Omegas are kept safe, cared for so that they may perform their duty, to reproduce offspring and to continue the race.”</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He paused, tilting his head. It didn’t seem as foul as he’d expected, or at least the first paragraph was. But when he continued to the second, his stomach knotted uncomfortably. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> <em>Due to the rise of so-called Omega Rights activists, it is the duty of this author to set in stone the proper method of rearing omegas. Thus the author has created a guide to simplify the process, from the moment of Presentation through the mating and breeding, to their inevitable loss of fertility, when they are to retired.“</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Retired?” he read aloud. He was half afraid to know what that meant, although the author didn’t delve into it further. Yet.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Instead, the forward was three more pages of him explaining how stupid omegas were and that only by following his guide could they be properly trained. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“This is horse shit,” he grumbled, slamming The Book shut and rubbing his eyes. But there was something about it that he couldn’t tear himself away from. A burning urge to know exactly what was written in it. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>"My father was a devout believer,”</em> Dandelion’s voice murmured in the back of his mind. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Julian,” Geralt said slowly. That was what Dandelion had confessed his real name was, but it didn’t help him find out anything more about the bard’s past. Julian was a common enough name, he couldn’t search him out using that. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But The Book might tell him more about him, perhaps it would jog something in Geralt’s memory, if Dandelion had followed it in any way (or, more likely, if he had consciously rebelled against it). </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">More than anything, he wanted to know exactly what sort of nonsense was rattling around in the bard’s head in the hope that he might help him overcome it.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Dandelion had been right when he'd said Geralt didn't understand him. But perhaps this would help. Perhaps it would offer him some insight into Dandelion's past. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">With a heavy sigh, Geralt reopened The Book.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Feel free to <a href="https://sunflowersupremes.tumblr.com/">Follow me on Tumblr</a>. I accept prompts, fangirling, and accusations of character abuse.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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